I will always find you
by Professor Pang
Summary: Emma and Regina meet in high school in Boston and become a couple, but Regina's mother has other plans. As they grow up, obstacles are their every day life. Will they find their way back to each other, to their happy ending? -DISCLAIMER- I own nothing but the idea. Don't like Swan Queen, don't read.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Anyone reading this? No? Okay. Oh, one? You in the corner? Yay, that's one! Hello! This is my first published Swan Queen fic, hope you like it, and that the POV-switches won't be too confusing. They'll get better later on. **

**Enjoy! Review and I might write a oneshot of your choice. Just ask me nicely.**

**Don't like Swan Queen, don't read.**

Regina sighed. She both hated and loved this, she decided.

She hated it because it mattered so much, but she had to hide it. Neither she or Emma were confident enough to put their relationship on display in school, so they sneaked around quite a lot. Regina also loved it because it was romantic, and it made the moments she got with the blonde even more special.

Except for the problem that was school and the public, there was Regina's mother. Cora was not happy in the least about her daughter being in a relationship with a girl who had nothing, having been in the system all her life. Cora was a lady of high standards, requiring high quality when it came to all, be it supplies, company or entertainment. She wanted the very best, and _only_ the best, for her daughter. A highly educated, rich businessman, perhaps. Someone who could provide for her with everything she was used to having in her life.

The Mills family lived in a mansion just outside of town. Emma lived with her foster parents in an apartment in the city. While Cora had not outright said that she wanted the two to break up, her pointed comments and never disguised opinions said it all.

But unlike her mother, Regina had no desire for herself to ever part from Emma, and she couldn't care less about financial things.

They had met in a class they shared – Expressive Arts. Neither of them were for the stage – having the looks, but not the confidence – and Regina was in the class' offered writing course for the sake of her love for the activity. Emma was in the very same place because she needed the extra points to graduate, having switched schools so much in her past.

Seated next to each other, the second- and the first-year didn't speak for a long time. Once a week they would spend two and a half hours only centimetres apart, both of them tapping away on their laptops, but it wasn't until well into November that Emma ignited conversation.

It all started over a question about what the teacher had said, and as they got onto the topic of writing, what books they liked to read, they were both hooked. Neither would show it in any way, but after their first conversation, they both had the other on their mind for the rest of the week. Regina was the known daughter of the town's most influential people, and quite known for the fact. Everybody knew Henry and Cora Mills – from the newspaper, the business-name, who knew, but somehow, everyone knew. Regina Mills was expected to run the business herself one day, and great hopes were built on her. Her mother was the most demanding one – constantly reminding her that good grades were the key to getting into the school her mother wanted her in, poking and checking to make sure her daughter were always presentable and her manners correct.

Emma Swan, on the other hand, had not had a mother always making sure she behaved. She was a free spirit, though she always did her best to behave around Regina's family. But until she and Regina met, she hadn't always been as keen on that. She wouldn't necessarily care about what was legal and what wasn't, but now, she cared too much about what Regina thought of her, and she saw the point. She had told Gina about her past, and though she frowned upon it, she accepted it and Emma had promised to never do anything like it again.

Her phone beeped in her pocket. _Lunch?_

Emma smiled, typing back with her phone hidden under her desk. _I finish in 10 minutes. Subway?_

_You know me so well_.

Emma hid her bright smile behind her book. Regina secretly loved eating in places as Subway, McDonald's and Burger King, since her mother would never let her. They were lucky there was two malls nearby the school. Most students went to the closest one during lunch, while Regina and Emma enjoyed the walk to the one further away. It was less modern than the popular one, but they were thankful for it. It meant there was a very small chance they would see anyone they knew, and the restaurants were mostly empty.

The teacher called it an end, and Emma quickly gathered her things, hopping off her chair in a hurry. Ruby knew she would be gone whenever she and Regina had the time to spend lunch together. She half-ran to her locker, shoving her books inside, pushing through a horde of girls and hurrying towards their usual meeting spot.

Behind the school, there was an old, forgotten park, overgrown with trees. In the very back of it, in between the pines and overgrown ground, was an old park-bench where they had spent their first few times seeing each other outside of school. And there Regina was, sitting by the far end of it, just like the first time Emma had come to see her there, and her heart beat faster.

Regina heard her approaching, whipped her head around and smiled widely, stood up, pulling her hands out of her pockets to catch Emma's, squeezing her elbows as she leaned forward to give the blonde a searing kiss, which was enthusiastically returned.

Regina pulled away with a regretful look in her eye, smiling sadly. "As nice as making out in the woods is, I'm hungry and we need to get back in time."

Emma pouted, pecking Regina's lips once more before lacing their fingers together and pulling her forward. They went through the opening in the fence, emerging onto a backstreet between an old liquor store and a line of garages. As always, Regina scrunched her nose at the smell, and Emma laughed at her. It was kind of strange, because out of the two, Regina drank alcohol the most – her mother were fond of dinners with wine. While Emma had drank the most by far in her time, occasionally stealing from her caretakers and drinking to forget, Regina drank at least twice a month, but never much, and certainly never intending to get drunk.

Reaching the mall, and the restaurant in question, they saw to their satisfaction that they were indeed alone, as usual. Ordering their usual, Emma watched Regina, amused as always, as the brunette ate the sub with gusto, more enthusiastic than any five-year-old. She shrugged by Em's gaze, grinning widely.

The blonde watched for a moment before tucking in on her own with almost as much energy. The blonde loved all foods, but Regina was happy about getting to act like a normal teenager – eat junk food, go to a restaurant and eat with her girlfriend. It was things that she never really got to do, and her mother had no idea where she sometimes went with Emma.

When they became a couple they had decided that even if they didn't want to show it at school, they should tell their families. Emma hadn't been nervous in the slightest – her foster parents had encouraged her to make friends, and they were really nice. Regina, on the other hand, had been in a slight fit of panic. She told her father without incident, who told her that it was great that she was getting over Daniel – her former boyfriend, who had died in a car-crash a year prior. Regina still missed him, every day, but she knew he would have wanted her to love again, after he was gone. And Emma was the only one yet who had been able to fill the void after him.

Emma didn't speak of sensitive matters with anyone, but she knew it was good that she stopped thinking of Graham, the hot guy from her last school, who she had dated for a few weeks before she'd had to move again. They hadn't been close enough for her to really be upset about it, but she was, and she knew she didn't owe him anything. They had agreed that their relationship would end when she left, but he'd been on her mind a lot, until Regina came along.

Cora took the news well, all matters considered. She didn't yell, didn't make threats. She asked to meet Emma for dinner next week.

Regina remembered it like it was yesterday.

_Both girls were fidgety and nervous to the extreme. It was only two hours left, and Emma was turning in front of her mirror, wondering about her clothes. Regina, knowing Cora's dress-code for dinners and knowing Emma's wardrobe, had brought some of her own clothes in hope of making the blonde look acceptable in the end. Now there Emma stood, dressed in wobbling high-heels, black trousers, a white blouse and a black blazer. Regina had pulled Emma's hair up in a professional-looking ponytail. Em looked more like a business-partner of Gina's than her girlfriend, but neither of them cared as long as Cora would be acceptive of her. Regina herself were dressed like she always was at her mother's dinners – a formal, cream-coloured dress, black pumps and her hair fluffed. She looked like the wife of a president, Emma said. Regina responded, blushing, that she wouldn't want to be anyone's wife but Emma's._

_Emma had heard the line with a blush matching her girlfriend's, who was rewarded with a shy smile and a firm kiss._

_The dinner was a slightly awkward affair. Emma did her best to behave, watching Regina's every move intently as so not to do anything wrong. Regina watched Emma's moves just as closely, infinitely worried about Em having been scared off by her family. _

_In truth, she wouldn't have had to worry. Even if it had only been a little while – two weeks, in fact – Emma had a feeling she wouldn't want to be away from the brunette for a very long time._

"_How many places did you say you had lived in, miss Swan?" Cora fixed Emma with her firm eyes, not intending to scare the young woman, but simply make sure she was suitable for her daughter._

_Emma swallowed timidly. "Six, mrs. Mills."_

"_How come you have been transferred that much?"_

"_Different things. In most cases, my caretakers turned out to not be qualified for the job."_

"_And in the remaining ones?"_

"_One family disliked my behaviour."_

_Cora nodded thoughtfully, eyes trained on Emma. "And now that you're here, what are your... _intentions_ with my daughter?"_

"_Mother!" Regina exclaimed._

_Emma choked on her food, but hiding it successfully behind a cough. _

_Regina's head span. Emma's humour was quirky – what could she possibly say? She had no doubt Emma could say 'sex' or 'money' without batting an eye for the sheer fun of it._

_But the blonde surprised her by looking Cora straight in the eye and saying, with sincerity clear as day in her voice, "I want to make her happy."_

_Regina immediately forgot her mother's scrutinizing eyes on them and slipped her hand into Emma's on the table, lacing their fingers together and squeezing lightly. _

_Emma smiled timidly at the brunette, squeezing back. Regina's eyes were shining brilliantly, and it was enough to make Emma forget that they were at her family's dinner table._

_Luckily, Regina's father reminded them of the fact in time. "We can't ask for more than that, now can we?" he smiled brightly at the two girls across from him. _

_His daughter beamed at him,the blonde beside her smiling shyly, but gratefully. He ignored his wife's disapproving glare and smiled back._

"How's your Geography project coming along?"

Emma's voice awakened her from her memories, and she smiled, if bitterly so. "Finished. Mother has had me locked up in my room all week so that I would be free this Friday."

"Another formal dinner?" Emma sounded disappointed, and Regina couldn't stop the pout revealing she felt the same way. Most couples spent weekends together, enjoying time off school. Most weekends, Cora had some business-partner, friend, sponsor, or the like (occasionally she would even try to set Regina up with someone), and so whatever plans they had been hoping for would be denied.

Gina sighed deeply. "Yes. The Jones family, companions of mother. Shipping business, I think."

"Is it another set-up?"

Emma sounded so disgruntled that Regina had to laugh. "Probably. Don't worry about it."

The blonde on the other side of the table pouted. "It's not you I don't trust. It's them."

Gina shrugged. "They can't force me to do anything. Besides, it's just dinner. We're not going to go to a restaurant or something."

If only she knew how wrong she was.

**AN: Oooh, what an original and cliché final line! You've probably figured it out already, but you'll see what I mean next chapter. REVIEW PLEASE!**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Thanks for the reviews! I reread the first chapter somewhat too late and discovered how much better it could have been, so I'll do my best to make sure this one is better! Review about anything you want. Last chapter I think I wrote they were first- and second-year? I accidentally thought of my country's school system. I'm not an expert in the American high school system, but I'll put it like this now: Regina is a last year, and will go to college after graduation. Emma is one year younger than her.**

Emma's phone _beep_ed in her pocket, and she reached down, struggling to get it out of the tight jeans pocket. Regina always said they were impractical, but she didn't listen.

She had been laying on her bed, listening to music, trying not to sulk about Cora occupying Gina yet another weekend. It happened far too often for her liking. She unlocked the phone and read Regina's message.

_Dear God, they ARE trying to set me up. Really, this time they're serious. We ARE going to a restaurant, just like I said we WOULDN'T! Mother's never done that before. We always eat at home, and she told me to put my best dress on!_

Emma frowned. She didn't doubt Regina's ability to take care of herself, but she still got really worried every time they did this. In the back of her mind, there was always the tiny voice wondering when a time would come when Regina would see a young man of her mother's choosing whom she liked? When she would realise how nice it was to agree on something with her mother, and realise how she didn't want Emma anymore?

Unbeknownst to the blonde, Regina always worried that one day, Emma would tire of a girl who couldn't spend time with her, but instead meeting boys with her mother, and decide she didn't want the brunette anymore.

_Hope for good food, and take a picture of yourself for me. It's OK, like you said, they can't make you do anything_.

Emma knew how curt she sounded, like she didn't really care. She figured it was good practise, though. Having to see Regina at school when she was with the new Jones boy instead of her would require a lot of curt acting from the blonde.

_I will. I know they can't, but I just really wish I could take you to these places instead_.

Emma smiled, despite herself. So much for remaining indifferent. _I'm fine. Try to have a good time, alright?_

Regina ignored her request. _What are you doing?_

_Saving the earth. Listening to music. You, in the car?_

_In the damn Limousine. It's a freak-show, seriously. The Joneses are more over-the-top than my mother._

Emma swallowed. She couldn't compete with money, let alone Limousines. _Sounds like a nice trip_.

_It's not, I promise you_.

**OOOOOOOOOO**

"Ems, come on. She doesn't mean to."

"I _know_, Ruby, but it doesn't help."

"She can't help it."

"And _I_ can't help but worry."

"What do you have to worry about? Regina would never betray you in any way."

"I suppose not, but if her mother can get her to stay home every weekend, how hard can it be for her to stop us from seeing each other altogether?"

"Then you'll find a way. You have to believe, Emma, or it's never going to work. Don't you believe in yourself and Regina?"

"As a couple, or what?"  
"Yes."

"I believe we have the odds against us, and that life isn't a fairytale, so it's not given that we'll be able to take it."

"What would you _not _be able to take? Her mom?"

"Her mother could do almost anything, Rubes, you know that."

"So, say that Cora's stopping you from seeing each other. What do you do?"

"Call, text. Try to sneak in."

"They take her phone and discover you, threatening to get you arrested if you try again."

"Letters disguised as stuff from school. Their servants likes me. And her dad does. They'd let me in."

"Cora finds out, and says that if she sees as much of a trace of you inside their home again she will personally have you under arrest before you can blink."

"I'd turn up at those lunch restaurants she keeps going to, meet Gina in the bathroom or something."

"See, Em? You're not resource-less, and neither is Regina. It's going to be fine."

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

That Saturday, Emma was sleeping in. She'd stayed up late, distracting herself from Regina by watching some old reruns. Her foster parents started work early on most days, around seven. The clock was only half past seven, and someone was banging on the door loudly. The sound jolted Emma awake, and she grumbled unhappily as she pulled on a large hoodie over her shorts and tank top, expecting a seller or the like. She yanked her bedroom door open, stomping through the small hallway and fumbling with the lock, before pulling the door open slightly. "What?"

She hadn't expected her favourite brunette to be standing there. "Regina?" She opened the door wider, letting go of the handle and stepping forward.

Regina's eyes were sparkling as she confidently brought her hands up to cup Emma's cheeks, leaned in and gave her a firm kiss on the lips. Emma immediately melted beneath her touch, letting her fingers tangle in Regina's hair and kissing back happily.

It was Regina who broke away, pushing Emma inside gently and closing the door after them. Emma seemed to sober up, too, and grinned, asking; "Where is this coming from?"

Gina shrugged. "I missed you. Last night was terrible and I couldn't wait, really..." a slight blush painted her cheeks.

Emma laughed and pecked her lips firmly. "I'm really happy to see you. Did you even have time to eat?"

"No," Regina admitted. "I left as soon as I woke up."

"Did you walk here?"

Emma sounded flabbergasted, and Gina looked down at her running shoes and sweatpants with a sheepish face. She lived quite far away, usually she'd take a cab when she wanted to go to Emma's place. "Yeah."

Emma smiled timidly, leaning forward to peck her lips once more. "How flattering. Have breakfast with me?"

Regina smiled widely and wrapped her arms around Emma's neck, pulling her in for another deep kiss. "I'd love to."

Emma returned the smile brightly, though reluctantly letting go of Regina's waist. Instead she grabbed her girlfriend's hand, pulling her into the kitchen. Regina followed closely, taking in the familiar apartment. She secretly loved it – the homey feeling of the small place, so differing from her own big, tasteful but soulless home. She absolutely loved how she could come here any time of the day, and Emma would welcome her no matter what. Emma was the one never-wavering thing in her life. Her mother was an uncontrollable force, and her father would do whatever Cora told him. Either way, the blonde girl in her sleeping attire I front of her was truly the most important person in her life. She wouldn't ever dare to say that – it would scare her away, for sure – but it was the truth, and she'd known it for some time. During the five and a half months they'd been together, it had only taken her three to realise how much she relied on, trusted, and actually loved Emma. Emma loved her too, she knew that much now, but she doubted she would ever mean as much to Emma as she herself did to Regina.

Emma started taking things out of the fridge – milk, chocolate milk because it was Saturday, and cereal from the cupboard. Two bowls, spoons and glasses.

Regina looked sceptically at the group of items Emma had gathered. "Cereal and _chocolate_-milk?"

Emma nodded with a grin on her face. "It's Saturday. Sugar Day."

"_Sugar Day?_ I don't –"

Emma grabbed Gina's elbow, turning her around. "It is Sugar Day and you're going to enjoy it with me. Come on." She sat Gina down by the table and poured the sugar-loaded breakfast into the bowl in front of her.

Regina shrugged, ignored her mother's voice in the back of her head, and tucked in.

They spent the rest of the day together, after Regina had endured a lecture from her mother over the phone to never sneak out without permission again. Her daughter's pleading had made her scoff, but Cora agreed to let Regina stay with Emma, if only so she wouldn't have to see her for a while. She was still angry.

Both of them similarly dressed in Emma's clothes (tight jeans, tank tops and hoodies), something Gina felt oddly comfortable with, Emma took her to the playground, wanting to show her 'the more simple pleasures of life', where they spent more than an hour on the swings.

It confused and angered Emma to no end to learn that Regina had never had a swing when she was little. She hadn't been allowed to do anything that her mother considered dangerous, or as she had expressed it, "something that could hurt my little heiress". Henry had brought her to playgrounds only a few times, but only to sit on the swings, never to actually _swing_.

Emma took this upon herself. Pushing the other girl high, she grinned widely by the brunette's loud laughter and occasional yelps of surprise when Emma gave an extra hard push, sending Gina into the air forcefully and making her feel more free than ever before. Flying through the air with her girlfriend there to catch her brought a warm feeling to her chest, spreading rapidly, and soon she was digging her heels in the ground.

"What's wrong?" Emma asked frantically. "Did I go too fast? I'm sorry."

Regina shook her head with a small smile. She held her arms out, and Emma came to stand before her, looking quizzical. Regina pulled the blonde onto her lap and kissed her deeply.

"Thank you," she whispered gratefully, making Emma swallow nervously.

"You're welcome. You deserve to get some of the things you missed out on."

Regina pulled Emma closer, burying her face in the blonde's neck. When she spoke again, her voice was weak and she trembled slightly.

"You're the most important person in my life, Emma. You know that, right?"

Emma's breath hitched in her throat, and she turned her head to burrow her nose in Regina's dark hair. "I – I do. You know I feel the same way about you, right?"

Regina smiled weakly, and felt a tear trickle down her cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Regina felt slightly ridiculous for reacting so strongly to Emma taking her to a playground to swing, but she couldn't help it. It was the most caring thing anyone had done for her in a very long time.

**AN: Review, please?**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Hey guys. I'm sorry for accidentally deleting and reposting Chapter 2, I was in a confused state of mind (damn you, school). Anyway, as an apology, here, have a kinda short but earlier update! Hook is slightly OOC, but that's because he's Killian Jones now, as he was before Neverland. Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

Regina was getting worried. Her mother kept insisting on them seeing the Joneses more often every passing day, even suggesting that Regina and Killian spend some time on their own. Regina hated the idea. She wasn't opposed to making friends, but she knew all too well that "friends" was not what her mother had in mind. She was doing her best to keep Killian at a distance, but he was about as happy about her friend-policy as her mother. He kept flirting and asking her to dance at every chance he could get, holding her close in a way that would have wooed her had she been a few years younger and had Emma not existed. If she hadn't been used to Emma's loving way of holding and touching her, she would have mistaken Killian's slowly roving hands for the same thing. Touching her slowly instead of hurrying was not the same as cherishing it, she knew that.

It had been yet another night of Cora's encouraged dates, and they were on their way back from an exclusive movie theater and restaurant, driven by the Jones chauffeur, Killian trying to talk to her responding as respectfully as she could. The thought of possibly one day getting to take Emma to excursions such as this one kept her hopeful, but imagining the blonde beside her only to realise it was Killian proved a bad way of passing the time.

"Tonight was nice." Most of the time Killian acted gentlemanly enough, but Regina couldn't appreciate it.

"It was. Thank you, Killian."

He bowed his head gracefully. "The pleasure was all mine. Regina, may I ask you something?"

She looked up with a raised eyebrow. "Yes?"

"You know that our parents are trying to set us up, and I don't know the exact reason, but I can't say I'm opposed. You, however, seem to be, and I'd like to know if that's true. I'm not interested in investing time in a lovely young woman unless she appreciates it." He finished with a smirk, but his eyes were sincere.

She swallowed. Killian actually cared for her, she realised, and she knew had he not been set up for her, she would have liked him. In a platonic way.

She looked him in the eye, knowing he could see her apology there. "I'm sorry, Killian, but you're right. I'm afraid my mother has given you quite the incorrect view of _my_ view of getting set up."

He nodded, a stoic look on his face, only a hint of hidden disappointed. "You don't enjoy having decisions made for you either, I see."

"No, I don't." She really didn't want to hurt him, so she continued. "I don't have anything personal against you, Killian. If I wasn't interested in someone else and you weren't meant to take that person's place, I would probably like you more."

He nodded once more, an understanding look on his features. "You have a boyfriend, then."

A small smile grazed her face. "A girlfriend."

"Oh." He looked slightly stunned. "How long have you been together?"

"Almost six months."

"That's quite some time. I apologise for unknowingly attempting to split you up."

"You didn't know." She smiled warmly. "So, do you have anyone you'd rather be with?"

He shook his head. "No offence to the homosexuals, but I go to a private all-boys school, so I have had no luck in finding that someone this far."

She let out a light laugh, feeling happier than she had all night. "I see. I'm sure you'll find someone who appreciates your efforts, though. I mean, I do, but..."

"I know what you mean," he assured her. "It's alright."

After a silent moment, he asked, "Do you and Emma go to an all-girls school?"

She shook her head. "Mother sure would like to send me to a private school, but Dad refused to send me away." It was the only time Henry had stood up to Cora, and she was forever grateful for it. "I go to the public school, but Mother has grand plans for college."

"That must be nice," he said slowly. "Being like everyone else."

She shrugged. "Yes. But at the same time, I'm not. They know who I am, and they treat me as such. Like my mother's treated. Emma's the only one who doesn't, because she moved here with no idea what the Mills-name meant."

**OOOOO**

Cora was suspicious but satisfied with Regina's sudden change of tune about Killian. The two seemed to become more and more friendly each time they saw each other, chatting away happily, unbeknownst to her, about normal teenager-things, about Emma, about Killian's passion for sailing, about music. They were becoming fast friends, and the only thing Cora was not happy about was how Regina was still seeing that girl, Emma, and she never looked at Killian like she looked at the blonde. Like there was no one else in the world.

_Love is weakness_, she wanted to say, but if she did, she knew her daughter would never accept her marriage to Killian. She had yet to let Regina in on that part of the arrangement, but she would. If her daughter believed she could grow to love the Jones boy, then perhaps she would take easier to her loss of that blonde girl.

**OOOOO**

Emma was happy that Regina was getting along with the guy she had to spend so much time with, she really was, and she trusted her girlfriend when she said there was absolutely nothing going on between them. She still spent all the time she could with Emma, the only change being the occasional texting she and Killian engaged in.

Cora kept the connection up, increasing it quickly. Soon enough, Emma only ever saw Regina at school. As soon as the girl was finished with her homework, she was whisked off by her mother to see Killian. They both hated it, texted almost constantly when Cora didn't see, and secretly made plans for the future. If Emma could stay at her current foster parents long enough to finish high school, Regina wanted her to move in with the apartment she would have by then, close to her college. Emma didn't want to take advantage of Regina or the money she was provided with, but couldn't bear the thought of how much they would have to be separated, considering that the college and high school they would spend their time in during Emma's last year was quite far apart, and despite that Regina would be of age and then (finally) by her mother allowed to drive (Cora didn't consider sixteen-year-olds to be old enough), they would barely get to see each other. So she reluctantly complied, on the condition that she would work and help out with the rent.

Then there was the education. Emma hadn't decided what she wanted to study, and Regina's school was the only one around, focusing on Business and Law. She had a hum she might want to be a cop, and Gina encouraged her to take the Law degree she would need for a Law Enforcement that at the school. They would finally be together, and that was all they would need.

**AN: Review and make me happy? I'll give you a not poisoned apple!**


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